New Purdue defensive coordinator followed Barry Odom from UNLV, first met in eighth grade

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Sarah Barber
New Purdue defensive coordinator followed Barry Odom from UNLV, first met in eighth grade image

Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Barry Odom came prepared for his first season as head coach of Purdue football. 

In addition to bringing his nearly two and a half decades of coaching experience, Odom is joined on the Boilermakers’ staff this year by new defensive coordinator Mike Scherer, who coached under Odom for the past two seasons at UNLV. 

The pair are more than just colleagues, they go way back to Scherer’s middle school days. 

“About eighth grade, is when I first met him,” Scherer said Saturday on Big Ten Network. “When I was a player he was like a father figure. Now in my life and working for him, he's a mentor and he's a great leader of men. He's a great man himself. He puts his all into this team and he puts his all into the people that work for him. So yeah, I got no — I follow him everywhere.”

 

 

Following Odom everywhere isn’t an understatement. 

Scherer was a Division I linebacker at Mizzou from 2012-2016, where Odom served in various coaching roles between 2003-2011 and 2015-2019. The defensive coordinator began coaching during Odom’s final season at Mizzou, joining the Tigers’ football staff as a graduate assistant. When Odom moved to Arkansas as an associate head coach and defensive coordinator from 2020-2022, Scherer went with him as an assistant coach, and when Odom took the head job at UNLV, Scherer followed. 

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Purdue is the fourth football program Odom and Scherer have coached together, though Odom did spend two seasons at Memphis during Scherer’s time on the Mizzou roster.

Odom and Scherer have their work cut out for them this season — the Boilermakers are scheduled to face five ranked opponents and predicted to finish 18th of 18 Big Ten Conference teams.